A new article or blog of interest to many – following up our meeting the Silent Grapevine project:

Chuck Ray is one of the only trial judges in the world that is Deaf. He was an attorney in Anchorage, Alaska when he lost his hearing in 2007. His hearing loss had been gradual but he didn’t quite consider the changes he might have to make when he lost his hearing completely. A newly deaf person at 50 years old often faces obstacles that they don’t expect but Judge Ray took them into stride and decided against retirement. Instead, he decided that he would try to continue to practice law. This decision was not without some concerns.

How would he be able to interact with others in the court room? Would clients and/or other attorneys have issues with him and would there be any possible accommodations for him to help make it possible to continue. Fortunately for him, he learned how to lipread and while learning that skill, Judge Ray discovered something called Real Time Captioning.

Usually Real Time Captioning is used for sworn oath but for Judge Ray he gets a word for word play by of everything that is going on in his court room. When a new seat had opened on the Bethel bench in 2012, he decided to submit his application. Out of four submitted applications that had been forwarded to the Governor, Sean Parnell, his was highlighted by the Judical Council as one of the best submissions.

His deafness didn’t stop him from getting this job and the Governor has said that spending money on his accommodations is worth it for the right person. The initial set up for Real Time Captioning was $456,800 and 365,000 for each year afterwards. This hefty price tag covers $90-140 an hour for real time captionists in the court room, their transportation, lodging, and food. Often these captionists are coming from either California or Nevada and come out on two week rotations.

In order for a person to become a highly qualified captionist, they must obtain a certification. To obtain that certification, they must be able to type 200 wpm with 96% accuracy. This enables the Judge to get information in real time rather than waiting. Many lawyers and individuals that have seen the inside of Judge Ray’s Court room have been amazed at how they forget he’s deaf and his ability to keep up with what’s going on without any trouble. The biggest reason other than the Real Time Captioning is also because Judge Ray is still able to communicate verbally with his attorneys in the courtroom.

CCAC here: Many reading may know that “Courts/Justice” is one of the ten CCAC “Categories of Life” – you will see it listed on the CCAC membership form when you join us. Please do join the CCAC now if you have not yet done so! Every member has access to the CCAC members’ forum and a lot of good “first” information too.

Go to HTTP://CCACAPTIONING.ORG -the website for the organization (you are reading the CCAC blog here, not the website) – and find the tab to become a member. We’ll welcome you!

(Readers – we are checking with the author now about the set up costs. It would be helpful to many to know more, in a general way, of the items adding up to that figure (mics, monitors, and other items). We know that some other qualified and experienced professionals (e.g. physician specialists) also travel to Alaska to provide services, and expertise is costly. We’ll update the information here as it is received. Update: the figures are in the news story here – http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/deaf-justice-in-rural-alaska/25045558. Now we understand better too – it’s essentially the annual cost plus equipment (we are guessing) for the first year. As the State says, expertise is worth it!)

The article above has been republished from The Silent Grapevine (TSG) with permission. Mary Pat Withem is the lead reporter and you can contact her at mpwithem@gmail.com for further information or clarification on any of the information, sources, or for links to her work.

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March 18, 2014 Comments Off on Captions Capture the Votes! Campaign Begins Now – You’re Invited!

CCAC announces the start of a very special effort this year – aimed for captioning access for all elections taking place in 2014. Across the USA there are many – for Congress, Governors, local position and local legislature. We invite you to advocate with the CCAC for inclusion of quality captioning for all candidates’ media and also for live presentations by candidates.

Let’s collaborate! State groups invited! Regional and other countries welcome! More soon, stay tuned, and even better, if you are not a member of the CCAC yet, please join soon (though not required to participate and collaborate with this important campaign for inclusion).

CAPTIONSCAPTURETHEVOTES@CCACAPTIONING.ORG – Email for this Campaign

CCACaptioning@gmail.com – Email for the CCAC organization

CCACaptioning.org – Web address for the CCAC – Many pages of useful resources

We call for volunteers to be local contacts – get in touch soon please. Media contacts invited, as well as larger organizations with campaign experience. If candidates themselves would email us soon, even better. Cheers for captioning inclusion – captions communicate to millions.

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March 16, 2014 Comments Off on Hot off the Press: First Award of CCAC Sponsorship for Free Captioning

March 16, 2014

For Newsletters, Press, Media.

Contact: CCACaptioning@gmail.com

Hello World,

CCAC is very pleased to announce that the first recipient of the new CCAC Sponsorship for free real time captioning (CART) is awarded to AAMHL – Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss – for a meeting coming up in April in Virginia. Congratulations to them and all involved. Read more about AAHML here – http://www.aamhl.org/

We’d like to mention and say many thanks to a few people working on this new captioning advocacy effort from the CCAC, and also tell you more about the event, the CCAC’s service to find a provider called CaptionMatch, and about the CART provider selected for this event.

First, thanks to CCAC members who responded to the new call for membership dues in 2014. That’s how this new captioning advocacy program is funded. Starting in a limited way this year, the new program aims to offer sponsorship to 3 non-profit organizations. New applications are invited. Read the guidelines and more details this way – go to this link on the CCAC website: http://ccacaptioning.org/ccac-sponsorship-for-cart-a-new-captioning-advocacy-program/

Next we say special thanks to the team that created the program, and reviews the applications. All are CCAC members. Serving currently on this team are consumers Lauren Storck (CCAC founder and president),. Ann Rodgers, Elsa Dinis-Mcveigh, and captioning providers Kimberly Turnage, and Patti White. It’s a team that spans across a wide geography (eastern USA, western USA, and Germany). CCAC is international, based in MA, USA. Read more: http://ccacaptioning.org

We also say thanks to Wendy Cheng, the founder and president of AAMHL for getting to know the CCAC community, and using CaptionMatch, the CCAC service that extends education about captioning inclusion by helping others find providers. Read more http://captionmatch.com

P.S. Both captioning providers and consumers are encouraged to spread the word about the CCAC Sponsorship program. Suggest to a non-profit in your area that has not used CART before that there are many benefits of inclusion. Is there an organization that you have wanted access to for some time? Talk to them about the sponsorship program soon. Email CCACaptioning@gmail.com to discuss with any questions.

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Sharing a wonderful fundraising campaign going on this month in Belgium – who wants to create something similar for the CCAC? Chocolate maker? Toasty tidbits of a different sort? Email us soon, and meanwhile, for fun and a tasty treat, watch the video that has excellent access with quality captioning. Bravo, Surdimobil!

(NB: Embedding the video from Facebook does not seem to work here, as it does from YouTube. Find the video here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1394724237465670&set=vb.100007843209013&type=2&theater)

And on YouTube, voila!

)

And the text says:

INFO: The “Chocolate fish” operation edition SURDIMOBIL 2014 begins tomorrow!
From 14 March to 30 April, support us by buying bags of 5 delicious fish in chocolate (5 euros per bag) made by the Liège artisan Franz.

For the Easter of children, to thank the employees at work, to accompany the coffee at breakfast (and 4 h), to give pleasure to her husband (se),… All occasions are good for Surdimobil April fish! (Translated by Bing)

CCACaptioning.org

CCACaptioning@gmail.com

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You Too Can Caption! Special thanks to CCAC member Michele for asking for, and achieving access with quality captioning for this video – and special thanks again to the video maker! Captioning access is healthy, as is exercise!

p.s. Michele is very active in many volunteer groups – as many CCAC members are. The CCAC offers a “hub” where anyone can share good captioning advocacy information, ask questions, and find mentoring. The CCAC webpages have many resources too. CCAC’s only mission = Inclusion of Quality Captioning Universally. All media, and all public live events, need equal communication access. We ask for captioning. Many ask for captioning for private events too – celebrations, medical consultations, and more. CCACaptioning@gmail.com is the email address – let’s talk.

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Yes, the world can learn to caption – to communicate – to connect us. This good video was captioned by Lawrence, interviewed in the clip. His work and interests encompass passion for inclusion. As he says, “Nothing for us, without us” or as the CCAC says, “Don’t Leave Us Out.”

Lawrence is a CCAC member. He is Public Affairs Specialist at the National Council on Disability.

http://captionmatch.com is the place to find the captioning provider you need for your video, online course, webinar, conference, and more. Providers who bring consumers to CaptionMatch earn a special link. Email soon for more information: Info@CaptionMatch.com